Apr 4, 2000 - Whitbread is launching a new lager, designed to appeal to the patriotism of young British drinkers.

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The company is calling GB, which heads to test markets next month, the only definitively British lager in the market. Its parochial nature will be endorsed by a logo modeled on the GB car sticker and the bathroom-style taps from which it will be poured. GB is entering a market dominated by Australian, French and German lagers.

GB will be brewed using British wheat, hops and malt, "giving the lager a distinctive, rounded taste and flavour." Sophie Spence, Whitbread's development brands director, said: "There has been a move towards popular nationalism and people feeling good about the UK. We were looking for an idea which appealed to lager drinkers between 18 and 24."

By giving GB a strength of 4.4 per cent, Whitbread claims to be filling a gap in the market between strong lagers such as Stella Artois and Kronenbourg and weaker ones like Heineken and Carling.